Mount Union’s women’s soccer team is prepared for the 2016 season as it returns many players and adds a talented freshman class to the roster.
Sixth-year head coach Kelley Clark returns seven starters and 13 letterwinners this season, as she and Mount Union look to win a post-season match for the first time in 20 years.
Leading the list of returners is sophomore Nicole Lanese (Macedonia/Nordonia), who scored 10 goals and 24 points as a freshman last year. Juniors Katie Goedecke (Cuyahoga Falls/Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary) and Carolyn Balzano (Poland/Poland Seminary) each had 15 points on the season, 10 of which came from assists for Balzano. The other returning top scorers are junior Amy Bobonik (Medina/Medina) and senior Taylor Lanese (Parma/Valley Forge), with four and three goals, respectively.
Defensively, sophomore Brooke Schmidt (Massillon/Jackson) and junior Olivia Evans (Newbury/Notre Dame Cathedral Latin) return, each of whom started at least 16 games in 2015. Additionally, junior Paige Freel (Niles/Niles McKinley) returns after making 10 starts and recording a team-best four wins in goal last season.
These returners and letter-winners, along with a talented freshman class, hope to help the Purple Raiders improve in the Ohio Athletic Conference standings and advance to the conference tournament this season.
The Purple Raiders open the 2016 season Thursday, Sept. 1 at 5 p.m. at Wooster.
